Break Me Down
by amethyst-jt
Summary: When reporter Seth Rollins receives a tip that leads him to an underground fight club, he goes there seeking a story. What he doesn't expect is to find a tormented fighter whose past is a danger to them all.
1. Chapter 1

Don't speak, don't make a sound, don't disobey, fight only when we tell you. Those were the rules he had lived by since he was 15 years old. He was 32 now and the best fighter they had, but he wasn't a person. He was an animal, theirs to control, to turn loose on whichever unfortunate soul they wanted. He had killed more people than he could even remember, he was good at it but then again it was kill or be killed and he didn't want to die except for the times when he did.

Times like when the guilt from his kills made him pull his hair out in sorrow and rage. Times like when he responded to an order a little too slowly and they put the cattle prod to him until he was curled up in a little ball, whimpering in a puddle of his own piss. Times like when the guards took turns with him late at night and left him torn open and bleeding.

But there was no way out for him. If he died, they would just do this to someone else and he couldn't let that happen, that was something he wouldn't be able to live with.

So he lived. If this could be called living. His 'home' was a dirty cage with a filthy mattress on the floor. It wasn't even tall enough for him to stand in and was locked at all times. He was allowed two bathroom breaks a day and if he needed more, he was to use a bucket in the corner. He was allowed a freezing cold shower after a workout and the clothing he wore were little better than rags. He had no personal belongings, nothing to call his own. When they bought him from the orphanage, all he had was the clothes on his back and his school books. The books were promptly thrown away and his training had begun.

Now he waited. Today was another fight and they would be coming for him. He sat in his cage listening to the near constant drip, drip, drip of the bathroom faucet, wondering if this would be it, the fight that he wouldn't win. He knew one day there would be one, someday someone would beat him and his suffering would be over and someone elses would begin.

He heard footsteps and then the lights came on, blinding him temporarily. "Get up Big Dog, it's time to go." A voice he hated said, and he did what he was told, knowing that tonight would end in death.

* * *

Seth Rollins was milling around the exclusive underground fighting ring waiting. He liked fighting but this was a little more hardcore than he was used to but he had to be here. Seth was an investigative reporter and he had gotten a lead that things weren't all they seemed here. It wasn't the illegal betting that bothered him but the rumors of secretive death matches that he couldn't ignore. He watched match after match but they all ended the same with two people emerging beaten but very much alive.

The final match was about to start and the fighters entered the cage. The first guy entered. He wasn't too muscular but more wiry and he looked like he could fight. He had skull tattoos all down both arms and close cropped brown hair and was posing and playing to the crowd. His cockiness might be his downfall. His opponent entered the cage. He was... gorgeous. Long black hair framed the most beautiful face Seth had ever seen. He was about 6'3, packed with muscles but not so much to make him look slow. This man emitted danger and he looked like a warrior. He stood in the corner ignoring the audience and wrapped tape around his fists.

The man looked up and their eyes locked. Seth gasped as he looked into those dark, haunted eyes. He'd never seen so much pain and torment on someone's face before and he had a feeling that he would never forget it. As quickly as he'd seen that emotion, the man's eyes went blank and he looked back at his hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen it's time for our final bout of the night." The announcer said. "Introducing first, the ladies love him and the men want to beat him, 'The Viper' Randy Orton." The crowd cheered The Viper while he did a dramatic pose. "And now, everyone's favorite ass kicker, 'The Big Dog' Roman Reigns."

The crowd went wild but Roman didn't even acknowledge them.

The 'fight' was over very quickly. As soon as the bell rang, Roman charged Randy knocking him off his feet and to the mat. He pummeled him with vicious looking punches until he was unconscious and the crowd loved it. Seth saw the blood dripping off Roman's fists and it made him feel sick.

Roman got off Randy and looked at his bloody fist and Seth was sure that he could see sadness on the big man's face for a split second before that detached look replaced it.

Seth's heart was racing. He was sure that Roman not only hated fighting, but didn't even want to be here. So why was he?

Roman went to stand with a group of men that slapped him on the back in congratulations and Seth made sure to look at them all so the camera hidden in his black rimmed glasses could pick up their faces. Before the fighting began he had already surveyed the entire room looking for anything suspicious, but he never found anything. His partner Cesaro was checking out the outside of the building, looking for other entrances or anything that shouldn't be there.

People gradually started leaving but Seth stayed as long as he could without looking suspicious. Roman and his friends had slipped out while Seth wasn't looking and he was sure Cesaro was finished with his investigation so he went out the door and headed for his car.

* * *

Roman lay in his cage later that night remembering the face of the man he had just killed. He was shorter but thickly muscled with short black hair and a full beard. He seemed to be European and at the beginning he looked confident. He looked terrified later, when it became apparent that he just wasn't strong or fast enough to beat Roman. He had snapped his neck, he always tried to make their deaths as painless as possible

Roman didn't escape the match unscathed. The matches were fought in a pit that was lined with barbed wire so he had dozens of cuts on his back and arms not to mention the hits and bruises that the man had managed to inflict on him. His body hurt but his heart hurt more. He looked up at the wall where he had scratched a mark for every man he had killed in the last 17 years. 84 scratches lined the walls and he reached his arm up and scratched another mark into the wall with his fingernail. He wanted to cry for the man but after 17 years, he didn't think he had anymore tears left.

He thought instead of the pretty man with the glasses he had seen at the exhibition match. He didn't look like the kind of people that typically attended those matches. He didn't seem as bloodthirsty as they were and he looked sad when he saw what he did to Randy. He wondered how the man would look if he had seen what he had done at the death match. Would those soulful brown eyes cry? They would certainly look at him like the monster he is, which was no less than what he deserved.

He rolled over and tried to sleep, at least the guards would leave him alone tonight, they would be off celebrating all the money he made them by doing the only thing he did well... killing.

* * *

 *** If you couldn't tell this story is going to be a little darker than my others so read at your own risk.**


	2. Chapter 2

"So last night was not a complete bust." Antonio Cesaro said as he sat at his desk the next morning.

"How so?" Seth asked grabbing the coffee that Cesaro handed him.

"You remember my friend Sheamus that works at city hall?" Cesaro watched as Seth nodded. "Well, I kind of bribed him to let me in to the records room and I found the original plans for that warehouse."

"Find anything interesting?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"I'd say so. There's a whole level underground that's taken off the current plans so nobody knows about it." Cesaro said, pulling out photocopies of the building plans.

"This must be where they have the death matches." Seth said, pulling out the current plans. "You see where they blocked this area off?" He asked pointing to the plans, "This must be where the entrance is. There's a hidden freight elevator."

"I'll go over the plans and see if there's anything else we're missing." Cesaro said taking the plans.

"I'll look into some of the fighters from last night, see if we can find anyone that will talk." He said, sitting down at his computer and plugging in the mini flash drive from his spy glasses.

He skipped to the part of the video that had Roman's fight and he watched it over and over again watching Roman's face and he was sure that Roman didn't want to be there. He knew the winner of the fights only got $2500, and it didn't seem like a good enough reason to stay and do something that you hated.

He watched the men that Roman was with and he could see a change in Roman's demeanor when they were together. Roman seemed to get more submissive when they were around and when one of them raised their arm to pat his shoulder, he flinched. Were these men forcing him to fight?

He added Roman's name to the list of other fighters and just hoped that he could find him and talk to him.

* * *

Roman's morning started bright and early, he never got much time to rest. They kept him training, never thinking that he was strong enough but he didn't mind. They put him in the gym and locked the door. In the first years, they always stayed with him in the gym to make sure that he exercised as hard as he could and didn't slack off, but now that he was older, they left him alone. He liked working out anyway.

Being in the gym was the one time that he could shut his thoughts out and just work his body to exhaustion. If he was feeling particularly bad that day, he could just work off his frustration on the punching bag. When he was done his workout, he always left feeling almost mellow and relaxed.

He worked out until lunch and one of the guards opened the door.

"Hit the showers." The man yelled from the door. "You have 5 minutes."

He grabbed his towel and jogged to the shower. He hissed at the initial cold shock of water but soon it soothed his tired, over-heated body. He washed his long hair as best he could and not for the first time, wished it was shorter. He had asked why they wanted him to have long hair and they told him that the ladies at the fights liked it and his betting odds were very important to them, so he was left to take care of his long hair.

He got out of the shower quickly and toweled himself off. He grabbed his ratty old jogging pants and slid them up his legs.

"Don't bother putting those back on." The guard, Dean, said strutting in with a smirk. "You won't be needing them."

Roman tried to hold back a shutter. Dean was the worst of the guards watching him. He loved nothing more than hurting, torturing and humiliating him. He had fantasized about killing Dean a million times; that would be one death that wouldn't hurt his conscience.

"Over the counter, you know the drill." Dean said, hurrying to unbuckle his belt.

He did know the drill. He dropped his pants back to the floor and stepped out of them before bending over and gripping the edge of the counter with both hands. He kept his eyes lowered so he wouldn't see himself in the mirror.

He felt Dean step up behind him and heard him spit into his hand and he mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen. Dean roughly shoved his cock inside him and he bit his lip to keep from crying out. This was far from the first time this had happened to him and he knew exactly what to expect but it didn't stop the agony that he felt every time it happened.

The first time happened when he was 16 and he had screamed and screamed before he realized that that was exactly what they wanted. They loved to hear him scream and fight and cry and beg for mercy, it excited them. He learned to stay silent and still and just let them take what they wanted and it was easier that way. Dean was the only one that ever tried to get a rise out of him anymore but it never worked.

"Come on Big Dog, you know you love it." Dean said as he grabbed a handful of Roman's hair and pulled his head up to look in the mirror. "You love being my slut don't you?"

He just stay still and looked in the mirror at a spot over Dean's shoulder and let Dean continue forcing himself into him, it would be over soon enough, Dean never lasted long.

A minute later he felt Dean shudder and empty inside him and his heavy weight settle momentarily on his back.

Dean lifted himself back up and zipped his jeans. "Good dog." He said as he slapped Roman's ass and walked out of the room.

He took a deep breath and put his pants on and followed Dean out the door, another piece of his soul gone.

* * *

"I found him!" Seth yelled excitedly. "At least I think I did."

"Found who?" Cesaro asked from his desk.

"The guy they called the Big Dog, Roman." He answered. "Listen. Roman Leakee Reigns, born May 25, 1985 in Pensacola, Florida. Half Samoan, half Italian, his parents died in a car accident and he was put into an orphanage. But there's no record of him after his 15th birthday." He scrolled down further on the screen and saw a school picture of a boy with short black hair and sad brown eyes and he recognized him as the man he saw fighting in the cage. "This picture is him for sure."

"So if there's no record of him anywhere, we can't contact him so go on to the next name, find someone we can talk to." Cesaro said and he went back to his work.

Seth bit his lip. He couldn't describe why Roman was important to him but he was. He couldn't get that haunted look out of his mind and he wanted to talk to him and find out why he did what he did. But he was also worried that Roman was taking part in the death matches. What if Roman died before he could help him? He'd just have to work harder and find the other fighters.


	3. Chapter 3

It took 2 weeks for them to track down all of the fighters from the fight club and no one would talk about any death matches so either they didn't know anything or they were all lying. Since they found everyone except Roman, Seth was inclined to believe that they didn't know anything. After all he had seen them fight and most of them wouldn't survive a death match.

He asked all of them if they knew anything about Roman and they all said pretty much the same thing. He showed up with three to four guys, didn't talk to anyone and never lost a fight.

Seth couldn't stop thinking about Roman. He would look at the school picture of Roman and he would feel worry and fear, fear for Roman and he was sure something was wrong. He made it his personal mission to find Roman and save him from whatever was wrong. He couldn't stop thinking of the look of torment on his face and he would do anything to take that look away.

Their informant had given them the date of the next death match and they were making plans to infiltrate the match with the help of the building plans. It wouldn't be easy and it was probably dangerous but they needed to do this. Seth needed to save Roman, even if he had to go behind Cesaro's back to do it.

* * *

Roman stood against the chain link fence waiting for the his match to start. His handlers were talking and laughing with the host a few yards away. His first match of the night would be easy but the second match would end in death again. He almost wished that it would be his.

"Psst." A voice whispered from behind him.

Roman jumped and started to turn around.

"Don't turn around." The voice whispered. "My name is Seth and I want to help you."

He glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye. It was the pretty guy from the last match, the one with the soulful brown eyes.

"Are you doing this against your will?" Seth asked.

Roman thought. What if this was a trap set by his handlers? What if they wanted him to get his hopes up just so they could break him again? But what if it was real? What if someone wanted to help him? What if he could get away? Should he take the chance?

"Yes." He whispered.

"Okay." Seth whispered. "Something's going to happen tonight and when it does, I need you to run like your life depends on it."

Roman felt something move against his thigh and into his pocket.

"That is a license plate number, get to the van and hide in the back under the blanket. I'll join you as soon as I can and we can get out of here." Seth whispered quickly.

Roman wasn't sure that he would be able to run fast enough to elude his handlers, there were only two exits in the room. The one behind him that all the fighters used was always locked and the other one was blocked by all the spectators watching, he would never get through them fast enough.

"Won't work." He whispered trying to hide his mouth so they wouldn't see him talking.

"I broke the lock on the back door, just get there and run straight, the van is parked close by." Seth whispered. "It will work."

"Okay." Roman said wanting to smile. The little guy was pretty resourceful but he couldn't get his hopes up about this working but he would do his part.

"I gotta go." Seth whispered. "See you soon."

He waited until Seth left and his handlers weren't looking before digging in his pocket for the license plate number which he committed to memory. He rolled up the small piece of paper and quickly put it in his mouth and swallowed it down. If something went wrong, he didn't want anything to be traceable back to Seth.

He was the final match of the night like usual and as soon as his opponent entered the cage, the lights went out. He took that as his cue and luckily, he was right by the door. He opened it and ran for all he was worth into the crisp, dark night. He heard something behind him and turned to see a bald man block the door that he had just left with a dumpster. He kept running and almost missed the black van. He turned, opened the door and launched himself into the back, shutting the door behind him.

Seconds later, someone flew into the front seat and started the ignition.

"Seth?" He whispered.

"Told you it would work." Seth said, voice smug.

He lay down and curled up under the blanket.

* * *

It worked! It actually worked. Seth had managed to get Roman out safe and sound. Cesaro had been angry that they were blowing all their hard work on the story to get Roman out, but like a good partner, he had helped anyway.

He drove the speed limit and kept watching behind them to see if anyone was following but the street behind him looked clear. They drove for 10 more minutes in silence before they changed to another rental, this time a car and Roman once again lay down in the back. He wasn't going to take any chances that they would be able to find them.

20 minutes later they changed cars again into his personal one and he drove the 5 minutes to his apartment. He parked in the underground parking lot and he lead Roman into the elevator leading to his apartment. He was desperate to talk to Roman but he wanted to wait until they were safe in his apartment. He watched Roman out of the corner of his eye and saw that he was following almost robotically. His head was down, his long hair covering most of his face and his body was so tense that he walked stiffly. He looked like a man that was expecting to be attacked and that made Seth sad.

Finally they were at his apartment and he unlocked the door and lead Roman in. He bolted the door and let out a sigh of relief, he felt much safer in his apartment. He turned around and almost slammed right into Roman.

"Why?" Roman whispered softly.

Seth gulped. "Have a seat and I'll tell you everything."

He walked over to the sofa but Roman chose the chair opposite of him. "I'm an investigative reporter and I went to that last fight because I heard rumors about death matches occurring there. I saw you there and you looked... like you didn't want to be there. You looked desperate and I wanted to help you."

Roman sat and listened but didn't move or react in any way.

"I couldn't stop thinking about it so I did some research and I couldn't find any information on you in the last 17 years so I thought that something funny was going on, so I..." He trailed off when he saw the way Roman was looking at him.

"Tell me the truth." Roman said quietly.

Seth sighed. "I couldn't stop thinking about the haunted look in your eyes. I wanted to save you."

Roman nodded. "You saved me, so now what?"

There was a knock on the door and they both jumped. Seth smiled apologetically and got up to answer the door. He looked through the peep hole and saw his three friends.

"Hey guys," He said, opening the door. "Come in."

The three men came in and Seth turned to introduce them to Roman but he noticed panic in Roman's eyes. "Roman, these are my friends." He gestured to Cesaro. "This is my partner, Antonio Cesaro, but you can call him Cesaro." He gestured to a tall brunette and the shorter blonde. "This is Johnny Curtis and Tyler Breeze or as they like to be called Dango and Breeze. We all want to help you."

"Help me what?" Roman asked, sinking further into his chair.

The men all sat down in the living room, leaving Seth to sit in a chair a little further away.

"What Seth didn't mention when he was introducing us is that Dango and I are Police Detectives." Breeze said, looking kindly at Roman. "We want to shut this fighting ring down but we need evidence to do so."

"I don't have any evidence." Roman said, still looking uncomfortable. "I go there, I fight and people die."

Seth winced. He had hoped that Roman hadn't actually participated in the killing.

"Why do you do it?" Cesaro asked, crossing his legs.

Roman was silent for a moment. "Because I have to. If I don't the men that watch me will kill me."

"Tell us about these men, please." Seth asked, desperate to know the truth.

"Yes, please tell everything." Dango said, "We want to help."

Roman sighed and started fidgeting. "Okay, but it's not a pretty story." And Roman told them everything. About the men coming to the orphanage and taking him away when he was 15, the men beating and starving him for a year before they started training him to fight, the men raping him on his 16th birthday, him losing his first fight because he didn't want to hurt anyone, the beating and torture that followed. The first fight he won and the fact that he never lost again, his first death match and the 85 men he killed. He told of a lonely, painful, scared life and his endless thoughts of killing himself and how he didn't because he was scared that they would do it to someone else. By the time he was finished his story, everyone was shocked into silence and there were tears streaming down Seth's face.

The men all left shortly after, promising to come back tomorrow and Seth was glad. He wanted everyone away from Roman. He trusted them all but he wanted to protect Roman from the world. He turned and walked back to Roman. "How do you feel?"

"Confused." Roman said.

Seth nodded. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No thanks." Roman answered. "What do I do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Am I free now, or are you my new handler?" Roman asked, worriedly.

Seth's legs gave out on him and he sank to the floor at Roman's feet. "You are free, Roman and I promise that no one will ever hurt you again. You can stay here with me for as long as you want, I have a spare bedroom for you and you can have a new life. I'll help you as much or as little as you want. I just... I want you to be happy."

"I can't even remember what happy feels like." Roman said sadly.

"That's okay, I'll help you." Seth said, lightly laying his hand on Romans.

* * *

Roman lay in bed that night thinking. He was in a bed, a real, comfortable bed with clean smelling sheets and the softest, warmest comforter that he could ever remember feeling. Not only that but he was actually clean and wearing clean clothes.

Seth had shown him to his own bedroom that had a huge bed and it's own private bathroom. The first thing he did was go into the bathroom and run a hot, bubbly bath. He hadn't taken a bath in 17 years and and it felt like heaven to be in the warm suds and lounge for as long as he wanted. It sure beat the cold showers that he had been taking all these years. Seth had left him a set of jogging pants and a t-shirt that were a little tight on him, but must have been pretty baggy on Seth. Maybe they belonged to Cesaro since Seth said they were partners. He may have been living a sheltered life, but he knew what 'partners' meant.

And Seth. He didn't know what to make of him but he did instinctively trust him. He radiated kindness and innocence and he had cried when he had told his story but even after hearing about all the men he killed and everything that happened to him, he didn't seem disgusted or leery of him.

He turned over and tried to sleep, he just hoped that when he woke up, this wouldn't have all been a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

Seth couldn't sleep that night, all his thoughts were on the man in the other room. He didn't know how someone could survive 17 years of torture and not be a monster but even though Roman was a little quiet, he seemed to be more or less normal. He knew that Roman would probably need therapy and a lot of kindness before he would actually be normal though.

He got out of bed early and started making a large breakfast for them. He hated the reason for it, but he kind of liked the idea of taking care of Roman even by doing something as simple as cooking for him. He started whipping up some pancakes and bacon and was soon lost in his task. He was singing softly to the song on the radio when he turned around and saw Roman standing there with his hands clasped in front of him and his head down.

He abruptly stopped singing. "Good morning, I didn't hear you come in. Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yes, sir." Roman answered.

Seth frowned. "You don't have to call me sir, Roman. Call me Seth, we're the same after all. You're free now."

Roman relaxed slightly. "It's hard to remember that after so many years."

He nodded sympathetically. "I hope you like pancakes and bacon."

Roman shuffled to the island and sat down. "I don't remember. Most of the meals I got were oatmeal and protein shakes."

"Well we're both in for a treat then." He said as he flipped a pancake dramatically. "I like to cook but it feels like a waste to cook only for one person so I don't do it often."

"What about Cesaro?" Roman asked. "I thought that he's your boyfriend?"

Seth nearly flipped the next pancake into his own face. "Cesaro? No, he has a girlfriend, we're partners at work and good friends."

"Oh." Roman said, watching him.

"I'm single but I am gay." He thought back to the story Roman told him last night. "If that bothers you, I can find some place else for you to stay."

"What, because I was raped?" Roman asked bluntly.

Seth winced. "Yes."

"Those guys all went home to their girlfriends and wives when they were done." Roman said looking down. "Gay or straight had nothing to do with it, I was just a hole to them."

Seth looked down at the pancake that was currently burning in the pan and tried hard not to cry or scream at the horrors that had been done to Roman. He blinked the tears away and turned off the stove, throwing the burnt pancake in the garbage. "Breakfast is served." he said with a trembling smile.

* * *

After breakfast, Seth insisted on taking Roman to see another friend of his, this time a medical doctor. He was worried mostly about Roman's nutrition after his long captivity but he had also taken the doctor aside and told her all about Roman's sexual abuse and asked her to run tests for STDs he might have gotten from the men. The thought of Roman having endured all that he had, only to have an HIV diagnosis, made him sick. He had also called Cesaro and asked him to go shopping for some new clothes and other things Roman might need and to bring them by later.

After lunch, Dango and Breeze came by and asked for more information about the men that held Roman. Roman only knew their nicknames so he had to look through thousands of mug shots to try and find his captors.

Finally, after a dinner of takeout pizza, Seth sent everyone away. Roman's eyes were red from spending hours looking through mug shots and he was trying hard not to fall asleep.

Seth looked at Roman as his head started to fall back in his sleep and smiled fondly. Roman spent hours looking at the computer screen and never even complained, he'd done everything asked of him with no questions. But that wasn't a good thing especially if he wasn't listening to his body. Seth would have to step up and make sure Roman was taking care of himself.

He walked up to Roman and put a hand on his shoulder gently and Roman's eyes flew open in a panic. "It's time to go to bed, Roman."

"I'm okay, I can stay up." Roman said rubbing his eyes.

"No, you're tired and need your rest." He said quietly. "There's nothing else to do today anyway."

"Okay, Seth." Roman said easing off the sofa and heading to his bedroom.

Seth finished cleaning up and went to bed himself.

* * *

The next morning, Seth woke up determined to give Roman a nice day. He called Dango and Breeze and told them not to come over and he let Roman sleep in, he obviously needed the rest. When Roman woke up, he cooked them a large brunch.

"When are the fashion police getting here?" Roman asked after brunch.

"The fashion police?" Seth laughed. "Do you mean Dango and Breeze?"

"Well, they're always dressed in fancy clothes and they do work for the police." Roman said matter-of-factly.

"It is a good name for them." Seth grinned. "They've been like that for as long as I've known them. You should have seen them in high school."

Roman smiled a real smile and Seth's heart skipped a beat. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I told them not to come today, I thought that we could use a break."

"Oh." Roman said.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" He asked hopefully.

"Whatever you want to do is fine." Roman said, sitting back in the arm chair.

Seth frowned. He had hoped that Roman would want to do something that he wanted to do but this was really only his second day of freedom and he probably still wasn't used to it. "Hey, do you like Batman?"

"Who doesn't?" Roman asked.

"Why don't we have a movie marathon, I bet there are a few that you haven't seen yet?" He asked turning on the TV.

"Sounds good." Roman said, moving to the chair closer to the TV. "How many are there now?"

"Hmm," Seth said, counting in his head. "About 7 I guess, depends on whether you count Batman vs. Superman."

"Wow, the last one I saw was Batman & Robin, and that was so long ago."

"Then you, my friend, are in for a treat." Seth said, flopping on the sofa and queuing up the first movie.

They watched movies all day and it was the first time that he saw Roman truly relax and enjoy himself. Seth went to sleep that night happy that he had managed to bring a little bit of happiness to Roman that day. All he wanted was for Roman to be happy.


	5. Chapter 5

A week went by and Roman started to feel like he might be safe. In the beginning he had worried about his handlers finding him and hurting Seth but there was no sign of them and they were safe and sound. He also trusted Seth, Dango and Breeze and even though he hadn't seen much of Cesaro, he trusted him too since Seth did. He truly believed that they wanted to help him but they hadn't been able to find his handlers yet.

He had nightmares occasionally, panic attacks, and he was paranoid when he wasn't in the apartment but Seth said that that was all normal for what he had gone through.

He faintly heard the radio playing in the kitchen and knew that Seth was making breakfast. He crept to his bedroom door and peeked out and saw Seth singing and cooking something on the stove. Seth had a terrible singing voice and couldn't carry a tune but he was actually really adorable and seeing him made him smile.

Yes, he smiled sometimes. It blew his mind that he actually had something to smile about now. For so many years he had nothing and now he had a friend that made him smile, he was safe and warm, fed good food and nobody hurt him. Sometimes he felt like he was dreaming.

He set to getting dressed and fixing his hair before going out to the kitchen for breakfast. Seth stopped singing and smiled when he saw him. Seth's smile did something to him that he couldn't describe so he pushed it away and smiled back.

"Good morning, good looking!" Seth called out from the fridge. "Breakfast is almost ready."

He walked over and took a seat at the table. He had asked if he could help Seth with the cooking a few times but Seth had declined, saying that he liked to do it. In fact, Roman was worried that Seth was spending too much time doing things for him. He had been there for a little more than a week and Seth stayed with him night and day, he didn't go to work, he didn't go out with friends and he didn't date. He didn't even go out for groceries, he just had some delivered.

Seth brought over their breakfasts and sat down across the table. "The doctor called this morning and she wants to see us later this morning."

"Okay." He didn't know why the doctor wanted to see him but he would go, even if just to get Seth out of the house for a while.

* * *

They sat in the doctor's office waiting for her and Seth looked nervous. He was drumming his fingers on the desk and his knee was bouncing up and down. Roman wondered if Seth knew something that he didn't.

Finally Dr. Flair came in and sat behind her desk. "Hello, Seth, Roman."

"Hi." He said quietly, he was still nervous around strangers even though Dr. Flair was a friend of Seths.

"Roman, is it okay for Seth to stay here or should he leave." She asked, looking through a folder on her desk.

"I don't have any secrets from Seth so he can stay if he wants." He said, starting to get nervous. He wanted Seth to stay.

"You heard him Charlotte, I'm staying." Seth said determinedly.

"Okay Seth, don't get defensive, it's standard policy." She said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I have good news for you."

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Your test results are in and I can tell you that you tested negative for all sexually transmitted diseases, viruses, HIV and Aids. Your blood work is totally clean."

"Thank god!" Seth cried and threw himself into Roman in a big hug. He tensed up and Seth pulled away quickly. "Sorry, Roman."

He nodded. "I didn't know that you were testing me for those things, I didn't even think to ask about it."

"I asked her to run those tests, I hope you don't mind, but it is something we had to know." Seth said, his big brown eyes worried.

"It's okay, everyone else knows." Roman said. "I should have mentioned it myself but I was too overwhelmed."

"Roman, if you ever have any medical concerns, my card is in here. Everything between us will be completely private" Dr. Flair said giving him a packet of information. "I also included a very trusted psychiatrist's card and info on a rape survivor group."

"Thank you." He said, taking the packet. He didn't know that he would ever be able to talk about what happened but he was glad that he had the option.

"Now, get out of here and go enjoy the day." Dr. Flair said, getting up and ushering them out the door.

* * *

Seth decided to take Charlotte's advice and enjoy the day with Roman. While they had been hanging out over the past week they found that they both had a love of football and that Roman had actually played in school before he was kidnapped. Taking Roman to a stadium filled with people made Seth uneasy so he decided to take him to watch his 6 year old nephew's game. There was less than 40 people there and he hoped Roman felt safe. They watched the game for a while and he noticed that Roman was fidgeting.

"What's wrong, are you bored?" He asked, turning to face him.

"No, that's not it." Roman said with a hint of a smile. "The kids are so cute."

"Then what is it?" He asked curiously.

Roman sighed. "It's the parents in the bleachers, they're all looking at me and it's making me nervous."

Seth looked around and he did see lots of people looking at Roman but they were mostly women. "You're handsome, of course they're looking at you."

Roman shook his head. "It's my hair, they said that the only reason I was popular at the fights was because of my hair. I'm going to cut it all off."

"I love your hair!" Seth yelled and saw a few funny looks thrown his way. "Look, you can cut your hair if you like but it won't stop people from looking at you. You're one of the most gorgeous guys I have ever seen and that won't change if you have long hair or if you're bald. You will always draw attention." He turned back to the game and hoped Roman didn't notice his blush.

"You think so?" Roman asked.

"I know so." He said shyly.

"Then maybe I'll keep the hair." Roman said quietly. "I'm used to it anyway and you seem to really like it too."

Seth didn't say anything, the blush on his face spoke for itself.

* * *

The fashion police were waiting for them when they got back from the football game. Roman could tell that they were getting impatient with him and wanted him to go through more mug shots. The next few hours were spent looking through pictures until Roman's eyes hurt. Then there he was, one of his handlers staring back at him with a cocky sneer.

He swallowed hard. "That's one of them, Dean." He got up from the table and went to look out the window, his mind suddenly filled with terrible memories. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and knew that it was Seth trying to comfort him.

Dango sat down on the chair Roman had vacated. "Jon Moxley. Other known aliases are Jonathan Good and Dean Ambrose."

Breeze scanned the info over Dango's shoulder. "Looks like he's committed just about every crime there is but always seems to get off. He must have a really good lawyer."

"Let's look at the list of known accomplices." Dango said as he hit a few buttons on the computer. "Hmm, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Do either of them look familiar to you?"

Roman walked slowly back to the table and looked over at the computer. "Yes, both of them do."

Dango clapped his hands together loudly, scaring them all. "Now we're getting somewhere."

Dango and Breeze left shortly after that, happy to finally have a break in the case and Roman sank down heavily on the sofa. He found three of his captors but not the two in charge. Seeing their faces had brought back so much pain that he only remember in his dreams. He felt the couch move beside him and he knew Seth was there, he was always there.

"Is there anything I can do?" Seth asked quietly.

He leaned over and grabbed Seth's hand in one of his own. "Just this."


	6. Chapter 6

A few months had passed and they still hadn't been able to find any information on Roman's captors and life settled into a routine for the two men. Seth hadn't liked the idea of Roman just sitting around the apartment all day so he got Roman a job as his assistant at his office. He started out with little things like delivering their mail and getting them coffee but he was a hard worker and a fast learner and soon he was doing their filing and answering the phones. This week they had him doing research for an article.

Seth loved having Roman around the office but he had to admit that Roman could be a little distracting or at least his developing feelings were distracting. He had never met someone like Roman before, tortured and abused for so many years, but he was kind, gentle and sweet, and determined to make the most of his life. His feelings weren't as juvenile as a crush, but more of a deep admiration and respect and maybe a little bit physical.

Cesaro cleared his throat and he looked up at him. Cesaro cocked his head towards the door and Seth knew that he wanted to talk in private. Roman briefly looked up as they walked to the door and went back to the paper he was reading.

"What the hell Seth?" Cesaro asked as soon as the door closed behind him.

"What?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"You think I haven't noticed the way you've been looking at Roman?" Cesaro asked pacing the hallway. "I'm not blind, anyone can see your feelings all over your face."

Seth was dumbfounded that Cesaro knew.

"You can't fall for him, do you understand?" He continued. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy but do you really think he's capable of having a normal relationship after everything he's been through?"

"He's recovering well, I think, in time..." Cesaro cut Seth off.

"Time wont change the fact that he's been raped and tortured for most of his life." Cesaro said stopping in front of him. "Do you really think that you can have a normal sexual relationship, and don't say it doesn't matter, because it will eventually."

Seth closed his mouth. He knew that Cesaro was right, Roman may never recover or he may never want a relationship, hell he might even be straight for all he knew.

"I get it." He said quietly. "I would never want to push something so serious on him. I can handle it."

"Good." Cesaro said putting his arm around him. "You know I only said all this because I love you right?"

"Yeah, I love you too man." He said with a sad smile. He didn't know how, but he would have to ignore his attraction to Roman, for both their sakes.

* * *

Roman saw Cesaro and Seth talking through the window and he knew that they were talking about him. Cesaro was not shy about talking in front of him and Seth was an open book so he knew that it had to be about him. Cesaro looked agitated and Seth looked sad. He briefly wondered if he was going to be fired or worse, kicked out of Seth's apartment but he knew Seth and trusted him.

Eventually Cesaro came in but Seth was distracted by another reporter Finn Balor and stood talking with him for a few minutes. Roman didn't like the Irishman, didn't like the way he would openly look at Seth like he wanted to eat him. And he really didn't like all the little touches he was stealing from Seth in the hallway. His arm, his shoulder and his chest, the man had no shame, but Seth didn't seem bothered and he was smiling back at Finn.

But what bothered Roman the most was that he knew Finn was innocent, he had never taken a life before like Roman himself had. He was no danger to Seth like Roman was.

Roman had never told Seth about some of the dreams and fantasies he'd had, dreams where he would hurt Seth and bask in his cries and screams. Dreams that gave him a sick pleasure and made him feel so guilty he could barely even look at Seth in the morning. If Seth knew the thoughts he was having, he would throw him out of his life forever.

* * *

Seth said goodbye to Finn and went back into the office and sat at his desk. Roman was concentrating really hard on what he was reading and Cesaro was on the phone. Right on the heels of Cesaro's little talk, Finn had come and asked him out on a date. Finn was sweet, funny and cute but he was a love 'em and leave 'em type of guy and Seth was at a period in his life where he wanted more. He glanced over at Roman again and sighed. The real reason why he couldn't go out with Finn is because it would feel like he was cheating on Roman. God, he was really pathetic, pining over a man that he could never have. He sighed again and got back to work.

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon and Roman was in his room reading a book while Seth was preparing dinner for them. He was in a really good mood and listening to music like he liked to. One of his favorite songs came on and he started to dance slowly as he chopped vegetables for a salad. He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Roman and he smiled.

"Hey big man, wanna dance?" He asked playfully.

Roman looked down and mumbled. "I don't know how."

Seth grabbed Roman by his belt loops and pulled him over. "It's easy, all you have to do is sway your hips to the beat." He put his hands on Roman's hips and started to move them until Roman did it himself.

He took his hands off Roman's hips and grabbed his arms. "Then you put your arms around me like this." He wrapped Roman's arms around himself and he swayed his hips to match Roman's. He put his arms around Roman's neck and they danced slowly. He looked up into Roman's eyes and that was it, he was swept away into the fantasy of the moment.

He brought his hands down and turned around in Roman's arms and Roman's hands slipped down low on his hips. He put his head on Roman's shoulder, closed his eyes and moved his body to the music. He didn't really plan on it but his body seemed to have a mind of it's own and he grinded back on Roman a little and Roman pushed him away violently.

He stopped himself before he hit the counter and turned back mortified to apologize to Roman but he was already half running back to his room.

He decided to stay where he was and think of something to say but he heard loud thuds and crashes coming from Roman's room and he rushed over without thinking. When he got to the doorway he saw Roman opening the drawers and dumping his clothes on the bed and shoving them into a suitcase.

"What's going on?" He asked. "I'm sorry for what I did but you don't have to leave. I promise I'll never do anything like that."

Roman turned around red-faced and angry. "I have to leave, because if I don't I'm going to hurt you."

"What? You would never hurt me." He said trying to reach for Roman's hand.

Roman batted his hand away. "Every day, all I think about is hurting you."


	7. Chapter 7

Seth's heart sank. Roman wanted to hurt him? Maybe Cesaro was right and Roman couldn't be normal.

He knew he shouldn't ask but he had to know. "How do you want to hurt me?"

Roman looked at him with a heart-breaking look. "You don't want to know."

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "We can talk this out and make things better if you tell me. I promise that I won't think less of you or anything."

"Okay, you asked for it." Roman said, sitting down on the bed dejectedly. "What I really want to do is bend you over any flat surface and force myself into you. There are you happy?"

Seth's growing panic subsided at that and he sat down next to Roman. "So you want to have sex with me, is that it?"

Roman jumped up and faced him. "How can you say that so easily. I dream about forcing myself inside you and making you scream."

"Are these screams of pain or pleasure because I am a screamer in bed." He asked casually. He knew Roman well and he was confident that Roman would never do anything to hurt him, he was just confused from everything he had experienced in his life.

Roman looked unsure for a moment. "How could it possibly be pleasure? I know how it feels and it hurts worse than anything."

Seth sighed. "Roman that was rape, they forced you without any prep or anything, of course it would hurt, but there are ways for two men to be together so that it doesn't hurt and it feels good. Trust me."

Roman sat down heavily on the bed. "I don't know anything anymore, I thought you'd hate me if you knew."

Seth grabbed his hand and moved closer to him. "I couldn't hate you just like you could never hurt me. I know you too well. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about being with you like that."

Roman's hand tensed up. "You want to... be inside me?"

"Maybe someday in the future, but I was thinking more of you being inside me." He said, gripping Roman's hand tighter. "I think about that a lot."

They were quiet for a while, just sitting and holding hands, each lost in their own thoughts but enjoying being together.

"Roman, have you ever been kissed?" Seth finally asked.

Roman was silent a minute. "No, I was concentrating on football so hard before I was taken that I just didn't think of those things. I always thought there would be time."

"There still is." He replied looking at Roman's profile. "Can I kiss you?"

Roman turned to look at him with a small blush on his face. "Yes, but I don't know how."

He reached up and caressed Roman's beautiful face. "Just follow my lead." He approached Roman slowly giving him time to pull away if he wanted but he didn't and finally their lips touched. Roman's lips were big and softer than Seth thought possible and he just left them there, lips touching for for a few seconds before moving his lips.

They kissed gently and innocently like a couple of kids and Seth liked it, it made him feel young again. He felt Roman start kissing him more insistently and he responded, remembering that he was supposed to be teaching Roman how to kiss. Roman opened his mouth at the very first touch of Seth's tongue on his lips and then he was inside showing Roman what a real kiss was like.

Roman was a fast learner and soon he had taken control of the kiss. They paused for a breath and Roman slammed his lips back on his with intensity. Roman kissed like a desperate man, like he was afraid that he would never get a kiss again and it kind of broke Seth's heart as well as turned him on. It felt like Roman was devouring him and he couldn't remember who was teaching who.

When Roman pushed him down on the bed, he went and they continued kissing. When the kiss broke, he rolled him so that Roman was on the bed and he was on top and he started kissing his way down from his jaw all the way down his neck. He started to worry that he was being too aggressive but Roman didn't look scared, he looked just as turned on as Seth felt.

"Roman, do you want me to stop?" He asked worriedly.

Roman's voice was hoarse when he answered. "No, it feels good. Take your shirt off."

He smiled, leaned back and took his shirt off. Roman looked at him like he liked what he saw so he felt a little more confident to keep going. Roman was wearing a button up shirt that day so he leaned down and opened a button, kissing the newly revealed skin along the way. He opened the next button and the next, kissing his way down Roman's chest until he came across a raised line of skin. He pulled Roman's shirt apart and saw that it was a long, old looking scar.

He took Roman's shirt off and looked. Roman's torso was covered in scars as were his arms and shoulders. He felt a tear slide down his face and he looked down at Roman and saw the dejected look on his face.

"I'm sorry I'm so ugly." Roman whispered as he clutched his shirt to his chest.

Seth shook his head. "You're not ugly, you're a survivor. I just wish I could have saved you all this pain."

Roman reached up and wiped his tear away. "I know but it's in the past now and that's where it should stay."

He smiled shyly. "Sorry I ruined the mood."

"That's okay." Roman said with a smile. "We have lots of time."

Seth smiled for real and lay down with his head on Roman's chest and smiled even bigger when Roman put his arms around him.

* * *

The next day Roman went out for coffee for the guys in the office. He didn't really see the appeal of coffee, he much preferred sweeter drinks so he got himself a hot chocolate with double whipped cream and he sipped it as he walked back to the office. He still couldn't believe what had happened last night between him and Seth had actually happened. They kissed and he really liked it. He liked the way Seth's beard felt against his face and how it slightly tickled his lips and Seth's soft pink lips that tasted so sweet. He thought that he could probably become addicted to kissing Seth and he hoped that he would be able to do it again soon.

Some time while they were lying in bed, they had both fallen asleep and he liked sleeping with Seth in his arms. These past years he had felt so alone all the time but he wasn't last night and he had slept better than he had in 17 years.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked around, he had the feeling that he was being watched. He tried to brush it off because he had felt that way a few times before, even at home alone with Seth and he walked a little quicker back to work.

When he got back to the office, he dropped off everyone's coffee and put his on his desk but Seth wasn't around so he left it on his desk.

"Hey, where's Seth?" He asked Cesaro casually, trying not to look worried.

"He went off somewhere with Finn, didn't say when he'll be back." Cesaro answered.

Roman grabbed the sheets of paper he needed to photocopy off his desk and left the room. He wasn't looking for Seth, or at least that's how he hoped it looked. Seth wouldn't kiss him one night and then Finn the next, would he?

He saw Seth in front of the copy room and Finn was just walking away, swaying his hips and he rolled his eyes. He quickly pushed Seth into the copy room and closed the door behind them.

"Hey, what's up?" Seth asked when he saw who it was that pushed him into the room.

Roman grabbed Seth by the shoulders and slammed his lips down on Seth's and kissed him until he couldn't breathe anymore.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?" Seth asked as he gasped for air.

Roman glanced away. "Nothing."

Seth was quiet for a minute and then he laughed. "Are you jealous?"

He glanced at him and then back at the wall. "Maybe."

Seth put his arms around his neck and kissed him softly on the lips. "You have nothing to be jealous about, I turned Finn down. I'm only interested in you right now."

Roman's body sagged in relief. "Good, same here."

Seth dropped his arms. "In fact, let me show you." He said before his hands were on Roman's belt, quickly opening it and Roman's pants. He pulled down Roman's underwear and stroked his length. Seth looked down at the hardness in his hands and breathed, "Wow."

Roman gasped at the first touch and his mind blanked out when Seth fell to his knees in front of him. Was Seth really going to do something so dirty to him in the office where anyone could see? But when he felt the first touch of Seth's tongue on his tip, he couldn't care less where they were.

Roman found that he really didn't know what he was supposed to do. In the past when he had been forced to do this he had mostly stayed still and let them fuck his mouth but that hurt and he didn't want to do that to Seth but as Seth worked, it became harder to keep his hips still. Also Seth was really doing things differently, he was sucking and licking and doing so much to please him and it was perfection.

He looked down and saw that Seth had opened his own pants and was stroking himself and that was it. Seth was getting off on blowing him and the sight was so hot, that Roman came inside Seth's mouth.

Seth swallowed his release down and looked up and smiled. He grabbed his arms and pulled Seth up and kissed him hard, tasting himself in Seth before turning him around and wrapping both arms around him. He tentatively moved one hand down to Seth's erection and started stroking it.

He knew that he was unpracticed and clumsy but Seth seemed to like it and he gripped his arms hard. It didn't take long for Seth either and he felt Seth's erection pulse in his hand and Seth let go just as Roman captured his lips with his own and he swallowed Seth's cry with his own mouth. Seth's body went limp and he held him tightly until he recovered.

Seth turned around and smiled shyly. "You didn't have to reciprocate."

They both fixed their clothes and Roman kissed Seth again. "I wanted to."

Seth smiled widely showing off the tiny gap between his front teeth. "I better go or Cesaro will wonder where I am."

He watched Seth open the door but couldn't resist slapping his ass as he left. Seth turned around and winked before walking away.

He wiped his hand off and finished making copies before going back to work.


	8. Chapter 8

The car ride home after work had both men replaying the encounter in the copy room over and over in their minds. They kept stealing secret glances at each other and the small smiles on their faces told them that they were both reliving those moments. The ride up to the apartment in the elevator was tense and by the time Seth unlocked his door, they were kissing.

Roman kicked the door closed and swung Seth around in his arms, never stopping the kiss.

"Are you sure?" Seth asked him when they paused for a breath.

"Yes." he replied before taking Seth and his jackets off and dropping them on the floor. He reached over and ripped Seth's shirt off, buttons flying all over the living room and he waited to see if Seth would get mad, but he didn't, in fact it looked like he was even more turned on.

Seth undid his tie and pulled it off and Roman did the same. He didn't rip his own shirt off, but he undid he top two buttons and pulled it off over his head and grabbed Seth again in a kiss.

He lifted Seth off the ground and Seth wrapped his legs around his waist and he walked the rest of the way into Seth's bedroom. He could feel Seth's erection rubbing against his abs and it turned him on even more. He was a little nervous and unsure of himself but feeling Set's reaction to him gave him a little more confidence. He put Seth down gently on the bed and stood up and undid his belt and pushed his pants down. Seth did the same on the bed and soon they were both naked.

He stood there for a moment and just looked at Seth. He was on his knees on the bed, his hair had been in a bun for work, but Roman's hands had tugged it free and it was loose and wild, curling over Seth's shoulders. His lips were kiss-swollen and red and his eyes were dazed and filled with lust. He had never seen a more beautiful sight.

He went to Seth on the bed and Seth pulled him down for another scorching kiss and he ran his fingers through the soft hair on Seth's chest. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do but he really wanted to touch Seth's perfect body so that's what he did. He touched Seth everywhere he could and Seth must have liked it because he flipped them so that he was on his back and Seth was on top. Seth started kissing his jaw, his neck, his chest and he ran his fingers down over his nipples and pinched them lightly.

He moaned for Seth and he felt him smile against his skin before placing a final kiss on his collar bone.

Seth pulled back and looked at him. "I can't wait much longer, I need to have you inside me."

He nodded, not trusting his voice and Seth leaned over to his bedside table and brought out a small packet and a tube. Seth opened the packet and Roman realized that it held a condom which Seth slid over his erection. It felt a little weird but he knew it was for both of their protection. Next Seth opened up the tube and squirted a clear liquidy gel over his fingers. He reached behind himself and Roman saw his finger disappear inside himself. This must be what Seth said was prep. Soon another finger joined the first and Seth started twisting his fingers.

"Shouldn't I be doing that?" He asked, thinking that it would be easier for him to reach.

"Only if you want." Seth answered. "I can show you how."

He followed what Seth did and put some gel on his fingers and put one finger gently into Seth's hole. It was so warm inside and he followed Seth's directions of how to stretch him out. Some instinct told him to crook his fingers at one point and Seth keened.

"That's my prostate." Seth told him breathlessly. "It's what makes sex feel so good."

He filed that away in his mind for the future and hit that spot again, loving the sounds Seth would make.

"Now, Roman." Seth whimpered. "I need you now."

He pulled his fingers out and Seth grabbed his cock and stroked it once before lowering himself down on it. They both gasped as Seth sank down lower and lower onto him until he couldn't go any further and Roman couldn't believe how good and tight it felt. He wanted to slam himself into Seth but he was terrified of hurting him so he lay there and let Seth do what he needed to.

Finally Seth started moving slowly up and down and Roman watched his face carefully, looking for any signs that he was in pain but Seth opened his eyes and looked down at him and smiled and he smiled back.

Soon Seth was riding him hard and he had to keep his hands on Seth's hips just to have some control. He watched Seth's rhythm and thrust up right as Seth slammed down and Seth moaned, so he did it again.

He quickly learned that Seth hadn't been lying when he said he was loud in bed and it made Roman kind of proud that he was making Seth feel good.

He started to feel an urgency and need building in himself and Seth's riding him didn't feel as good as before so he rolled them over surprising Seth and he slammed himself into him. He took over now, thrusting faster and harder into Seth and things felt right again as he did.

He changed the angle of his thrusts and tried to find Seth's prostate and he knew that he had when Seth's eyes rolled up in his head.

"Oh god, Roman." Seth whispered. "Do that again."

He did do it again, over and over and suddenly Seth screamed and came all over himself.

Roman was shocked, he didn't think that someone could come without touching their cock and he was even more surprised when the pressure from Seth's shuddering walls pulled him over too and he came inside the condom with a long groan.

He looked down at Seth's dazed face and leaned down to kiss his mouth once more. He had never felt so much pleasure and he would always be thankful to Seth for showing him that bliss.

When their lips parted, Seth smiled a tired but so happy smile at him. "That was amazing."

"It really was." He said, gently caressing Seth's face. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." Seth replied quickly. "It felt so good."

He looked at him closely. "Thank you."

"For what?" Seth asked.

"For everything." He whispered. "Everything since the day we met and you saved me. You're amazing."

"I think you're pretty amazing too." Seth said and he leaned up and kissed him again, this time with infinite tenderness.

* * *

Seth walked to his apartment whistling. He was happier than he ever remembered after his amazing night and morning with Roman. They had had a picnic in bed then made love again and once more when they woke up and Roman seemed just as happy as he was.

He left work early and asked Cesaro to give Roman a ride home so he could prepare a surprise for Roman. He went shopping for groceries and wanted to make a romantic candlelight dinner for him and Roman. He wanted to go on a date with Roman but at the same time he wanted to have him all to himself.

He opened the door to his apartment and closed it behind him but before he could even put his bags down, he was grabbed from behind and a hand went over his mouth. He panicked and started to struggle and his body was swung around. He saw two men sneering at him and froze. He recognized the men in front of him, they were the men who hurt Roman.

He slammed his foot down on the man holding hims foot and elbowed him hard in the chest, knocking the breath out of him but he was blocking the door so he had no other alternative but to attack the other men. He ran at the one Roman called Dean and kicked him in the balls as hard as he could and he screamed and fell to the floor. That left the shorter bald man who was looking at him with rage in his eyes, he swung with his left fist and the man ducked just like he thought that he would giving him the opportunity to punch him with his right fist. It caught the man off balance and he fell on top of him and started punching him in the face with everything he had.

He was so busy with the man on the floor that he didn't notice the tall bald man creeping up behind him until he felt the excruciating pain of the cattle prod at his side. He fell to the side, his body jerking with electrical currents as tears gathered in his eyes. He was in so much pain that he couldn't think.

"Enough!" Dean yelled as he got to his feet cradling his injured crotch, and the cattle prod left Seth's body. "So, Roman's little boy toy has some fight in him. Good, that means we can have a little fun with him before he dies."

Seth looked up into Dean's eyes and saw evil looking back at him and that was the last thing he saw before the fist slammed into his head.

* * *

"You don't have to walk me right to the door you know." Roman told Cesaro as they got in the elevator.

"Seth would kill me if I didn't." Cesaro answered, looking at his watch.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He asked, sad that Seth's best friend didn't like him.

Cesaro sighed. "I don't hate you. You seem like a good guy but you've been through so much in your life that I'm worried that it'll end up hurting Seth. Seth always thinks with his heart first and he's already risked so much just by rescuing you. You might not mean to but you'll end up hurting Seth."

The elevator stopped and Roman got out of it. "I would never hurt Seth, he's very special to me. I care for him deeply."

Cesaro followed him out of the elevator. "I'm glad to hear that because I know that Seth has feelings for you and if you do end up hurting him, you'll have to answer to me."

He nodded and walked to the apartment but he stopped when he got to the door. He put his hand out to stop Cesaro.

"What?" Cesaro asked in confusion.

"The door's open." He whispered. Seth never left the door open and he was worried. "Let me go in first."

He slowly opened the door and looked in. The room was empty but it wasn't right. A lamp was knocked over on an end table and when he looked closer at the spots on the floor, he saw that they were blood. Suddenly it felt like he couldn't breathe. They took Seth and he knew exactly what they were capable of.

"Shit, is that blood?" Cesaro asked as he walked up to Roman.

Roman swallowed hard and stood up. "Yeah, it is."

Cesaro took out his phone and started pushing buttons.

"What are you doing?" He asked, pacing.

"Calling Seth's phone, maybe he just stepped out." Cesaro said putting the phone to his ear.

He grabbed the phone out of Cesaro's hand and ended the call. "Listen, Seth is not okay. They took him, they took him to get back at me and they're going to kill him." He scrolled through the contacts on the phone as Cesaro tried to get the phone back but he held him off and managed to call Breeze.

"They took Seth!" He yelled into the phone. "I'm going after him."

"Wait, Roman do you even know where to look?" Breeze asked. "Gallows has been spotted going into an abandoned warehouse at the old McMahon factory. We'll all go together."

"Fine meet us there." He gave the phone back to Cesaro and ran back to the elevator.


	9. Chapter 9

Seth woke up with a jolt and moaned before holding his head where he was hit. He looked around the dimly lit room and saw that he was alone at least for the moment. He was lying in a cage barely big enough for him to lie in and it was cold. There was cage on two sides of him and walls on the other. He looked at the scratch marks on the wall and counted them – 85. He was in Roman's cage, the cage he'd spent most of his life in.

Roman had told him about the marks on the walls how there was one for every man he had killed and how he had put them there so that he would never forget. Roman had told him of the incredible guilt he felt and how he wanted to live his life to the fullest to make up for taking theirs. He lay his head down on the wall and cried. He wasn't crying for himself but for Roman, he was just glad that they took him and not Roman, he couldn't bear it if Roman was hurt again.

* * *

The car ride to the warehouse was the longest trip of Roman's life. He spent every moment thinking of all the terrible things that they could be doing to Seth that would destroy his soul and leave him wishing for death. If they didn't make it to Seth in time, Roman didn't think that he could go on. Seth was the bright spot in his life, his reason to go on and live. He made him believe that the future could be a happy one.

Cesaro had his phone plugged into the car and was making a plan with Dango and Breeze but he could barely listen to what they were saying. His plan was to get Seth out no matter what.

He couldn't admit it to Cesaro but he was scared, scared for Seth and for himself. He was worried that he would freeze up when he got back to the warehouse and not be able to help Seth get out. So much had happened to him there and now that he knew happiness, he was afraid to lose it again and be caught by them, but if he had to trade his life for Seth's he would do it in a heart beat.

* * *

Seth dried his tears and started looking around for anything he could use as a weapon but he found nothing in the cage. He patted down his pockets and found that they had actually left him his cellphone. He pulled it out but wasn't surprised when he couldn't make a call, they must have a cellphone jammer on the property but that didn't mean that his phone was useless.

He heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly turned on the voice recorder app on his phone and stuck it in his pocket. If he made it out of here, he would have one hell of a story to write, if he didn't, well maybe Cesaro would know what happened to him when they dumped his body. He shuddered at the thought and looked up as the three men came down the stairs with two older men that he hadn't seen before.

The oldest of the men sat down on a chair in front of the cage and the other unknown man stood behind him. Now that he was closer to him, Seth recognized the man as Vincent Kennedy McMahon, one of the wealthiest men in the city who was suspected of having ties to the criminal underworld. He realized that Vince must be the one keeping Anderson, Gallows and Ambrose out of jail.

"So, you're the one that stole our dog away from us." Vince said in a gravelly voice.

"I saved a human being from you, yes." He replied with a calm voice. He was determined not to show these men how afraid he was.

Vince sneered. "Do you know how much money you cost me? Reigns is our big draw, people come from all over the country to watch Roman kill people and you know what they do when they get there? They spend money, they make bets and I take all their clean money and replace it with counterfeit money and no one is the wiser. The 'winners' go home with their fake money and I get all their real money and everyone's happy, but you, you spoiled everything. But not for long, once we get our dog back and kill you, everything will go back to normal."

Seth shook his head. "You ruined Roman's life and killed all those men for money? You already have more money than you could possibly spend and you want more, you're pathetic! And Roman won't fight for you anymore, he's not the same broken man that you made him, he's strong, he'll fight you."

Vince smirked. "We'll see how hard he fights when he sees what we do to you." Vince stood up and headed for the stairs.

The unknown man pulled out his keys and walked to the door of his cage and opened it. "Have at 'em boys, but don't kill him yet. We'll wait for Roman to get here for that."

"You got it Hunter." Dean said, pulling the cage door open and reaching for Seth.

Seth launched himself out of the cage, surprising everyone and started hitting Dean with everything he had. If he was going to go down, he would do it fighting. It was 3 on 1 though and his fight didn't last long. Everyone seemed to pick a part of his body to target and soon he was crumpled on the ground, every part of his face and body in agony trying to shield his most vulnerable parts from their kicks and punches. He willed himself to stay strong and not pass out but when the cattle prod was used on him for the second time, he fell into the blackness.

Hunter laughed when he saw Seth lose consciousness. "Gallows, why don't you go and issue an 'invitation' to our lost dog and tell him that if he wants to see his little friend again, he'd better follow orders."

* * *

Roman's heart started racing as soon as they pulled up to the warehouse where he had spent the worst years of his life. His hand froze on the door handle of the car, terror rushing through him but he put it out of his mind. Seth needed him and that was the most important thing. As soon as he opened the door another car parked next to theirs and Dango and Breeze got out.

"Okay, you guys stay here and we'll go in." Dango said, pulling his gun out of it's holster.

"I'm going in." Roman growled. "I know my way around and I know where Seth will be, you can do whatever you want."

"That wasn't the plan, Roman." Breeze said as he checked his own holster.

"I don't care!" He yelled. "You'll have to shoot me to keep me out of there." He started walking toward the building, not caring if anyone saw him or not, Seth was all that mattered now.


	10. Chapter 10

Roman crept to the back entrance and saw a padlock on the door. He wished that he had grabbed a weapon or something but he had been so worried that he hadn't even thought of it. He looked around at the dirty yard around him and saw some pieces of metal lying on the ground. He picked one up and saw that it was sharp as a blade so he put it in his back pocket in case he needed it. Eventually he found a one foot length of pipe that he thought would do the job and he walked back to the door and stuck the pipe between the round part of the lock. He used all his considerable strength to try to pry the lock open and eventually it fell to the ground with a clatter.

He lifted the pipe and opened the door but no one was waiting for him. He shut the door behind him as quietly as he could and crept towards the stairs. This was the way that they took him out when he went to the fights and he knew the layout well. Suddenly he heard footsteps on the stairs and he ducked into the nearby closet, his heart thudding so loud he was sure that it could be heard by whoever was there. He peeked through the partly closed door and saw Karl come up the stairs alone. He waited a few more seconds in case Gallows was behind him but just when Karl went to turn and walk down the hallway, Roman made his move.

Roman was big but he had also learned how to be very quiet when the time came for it and Karl didn't hear anything until the steel pipe came down on his head. The first blow knocked him out and the second killed him, he didn't suffer.

Roman looked down at the man he had just killed and waited for the guilt to come but it never did. He listened and didn't hear anything so he turned and silently walked down the stairs. He could hear the TV playing a football game and thanked god that there was something to hide the creaking of the old stairs.

He got to the bottom of the stairs and still didn't see anyone so he took the chance to walk towards the cage. What he saw in the cage made his blood turn cold and he wanted to break down. Seth was lying huddled on the floor of his cage, hopefully just unconscious, bruised and bloody and he ran to the cage. He put the pipe between the cage and the cage door and started to pry it open and it just popped open when he felt the excruciating jolt from the cattle prod.

He dropped the pipe and swung around, knocking the cattle prod away. He fell to one knee and looked up at the face he hated most; Dean smirked down at him and Roman tackled him to the ground. Dean was tough and wiry and was able to get the upper hand a few times but Roman fought harder and soon had Dean on the ground, with a broken nose and an eye swollen shut. He stood over Dean, panting when he heard a sound behind him. He turned to look at Seth when Seth yelled out, "Behind you!"

Roman turned and saw Dean reaching for a gun in his waist band that he hadn't noticed before and he kicked it out of Dean's hand before he could use it. The gun clattered to the floor and Dean reared up and kicked him in the stomach. He bent over, holding his stomach and Dean tried to take advantage of that but he was too slow and soon Roman had him in a headlock. Dean was still struggling and he was trying to kick back at him, never stopping.

He knew that Dean would never stop. He and Seth would never be safe from this lunatic and as Dean bit his hand, he reached back and pulled the sharp piece of metal out of his back pocket. He dragged the metal over Dean's throat and watched the blood splatter all over the floor as Dean thrashed until his life ended. A small part of him was glad that Dean had suffered before he died since he had made both he and Seth suffer so much.

He ran to the cage and opened the door. "Seth, are you okay?"

"I am now that you're here." Seth said, reaching up to Roman. "Are you okay?"

Roman lifted Seth up in his arms and held him tight. "I will be as soon as I get you out of here."

He slowly walked up the stairs with Seth in his arms, still being careful since he didn't know where Gallows and the others were. He carefully stepped over Anderson's dead body and out the door he came in into the cool night air. He carried Seth back to where the cars were but when he turned the corner he saw flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance. Cesaro ran up to them and helped carry Seth to the ambulance where they put him down on the gurney and the EMT's started taking care of Seth.

A few minutes later, Dango and Breeze came out with Vince, Hunter and Gallows in handcuffs and Roman let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw that their friends were alright. They handed the prisoners off to other cops and came over to check on Seth. They shared hugs all around and Seth handed over his phone which had never stopped recording all the evidence they needed to put the three men away.

"Mr. Rollins, you really need to go to the hospital." One of the EMT's said.

"Can I have just a minute, please." Seth asked and the EMT nodded. He turned to Roman and hugged him hard. "Thank you for saving my life."

Roman hugged back. "Then I guess we're even because you saved mine." He pulled back and looked Seth deep in the eyes. "I love you."

Seth's eyes filled with tears. "I love you too." Their lips met in a deep kiss filled with relief and love.

Dango looked at Breeze. "Well that's another case solved, partner."

Breeze grabbed Dango by the jacket and pulled him into a passionate kiss as Cesaro watched in frustration.

"Great, now I'm the fifth wheel." Cesaro grumbled, but he smiled a fond smile as the two couples showed their love.

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 _ *** That's the end of another story. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed my story, all of your support means the world to me.**_


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